Install 13.04 with RAID+LVM - [was Alternate CD functionality]

[bp-aero]

Hi Folks,

Kubuntu is now a 1GB image. Yay!
Kubuntu is now a single download. Yay!
Kubuntu has a new graphical installer. Yay!
Kubuntu no longer installs on RAID+LVM. Boooo. Booo. Boooo. Boooo. Booo.

So...the question is...how can I install to bootable RAID (mirroring) + LVM + GRUB failover as per the 12.04LTS install and every install since what Hardy?

Loosing this functionality is pretty poor showing - its not as if it takes a lot of room and in our corporate environment we only use RAID+LVM - desktops and servers.

Help Please!

[Buddlespit]

When I did it, I used the 13.04 ubuntu server cd, then downloaded "kubuntu-full". My raid0 was picked up immediately, which was previously set up using gparted live cd.

[bp-aero]

Thanks. Will download the server 64bit iso and give it a go.

[Buddlespit]

Be advised, the server cd doesn't have a desktop, so you'll be using CLI until you get kubuntu installed.

[bp-aero]

I have the 32bit cd as our servers havent moved to 64bit yet...but Im experienced with server installs.

Its OK...Been using UNIX for >24 years - Hardened command line addict

[bp-aero]

Well it was promising - apart from the fact ubuntu server fails to boot properly post-install. Grub: error no such disk . Unable to ls what it calls (md/0) which is /boot - says 'unknown filesystem' for ext4.

So far this is like going back to the dark ages. Why oh why do people KEEP breaking RAID+LVM installs...At the mo it looks like istal 12.04 lts alt CD (which actually WORKS). Then upgrade to 12.10, then 13.04. That really isnt a corporate install solution...

Ho hum.

Any ideas folks...Im going to Live CD and see what rubbish grub has put into the boot loader so I can work out if its just grub not including raid or ext4 support properly....

Seems to me 13.04 is worse than 12.04 at the mo. In the bad old days every other release broke boot loading raid+lvm - recently things had got better. Now it seems to just be going from bad to worse with no alt CD or raid/lvm options available in the install.

Sorry to moan...was looking forward to getting 13.04 running...

[bp-aero]

Aha. Right. Will reconfigure /boot as ext2 or reiserfs as grub seems to be lacking drivers and I shall try again!

[DeMus]

I also hate it that they stopped using RAID. I have seen some ways to install the OS on a RAID but that is way too complicated for me.
Why is it so difficult to do that? When you have a RAID (MD as it is called) isn't it the same as a partition where you install something?
Things like this are really the downside of Linux. Something which is so normal is made so difficult.
When Linux wants to stay the number 1 on servers it really should make installing an OS on a RAID system possible, and easy to do, or it is bye bye for good for many users.
Who can write a step by step solution how to install Kubuntu on RAID? Please.

[bp-aero]

Who can write a step by step solution how to install Kubuntu on RAID? Please.

OK Ive worked it out. Using 13.04.

Download Ubuntu 13.04 Server.
Install RAID & LVM as required. (ext4 is supported as /boot on raid and as / on LVM.)
Reboot into the rescue system from the CD (as grub is screwed).
Go into a rescue shell using your LVM root as root for the shell and let it mount your /boot - do a df to make sure all mounts are OK.
Then: update-grub
Then: grub-install <drives>
(do this for each drive in your RAID + MBR of the main boot loader device (i have 3 drives /dev/sda wth vista on (rarely used!) and /dev/sdb & /dev/sdc in my raid - so I install grub to ALL three drives - which ensures degraded operations).
Reboot (without CD!)
Log in.
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
sudo apt-get install kubuntu-full (or kubuntu-desktop if you want the basic kubuntu system).

et voila.

Its not the same as a pure install (splash screens on kernel boot are missing - can be fixed manually, as can one or two other bits - bit its 99.99% there).

Hope this helps


PS Ive logged the grub issue on launchpad as basically grub-install is run before grub-update and the wrong uuids are present in the grub installed on the disks - running from rescue system as shown above fixes this.